


Binding Bones

by orphan_account



Series: Help When You Need It [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Building Friendships, Character Relationships, Comfort/Angst, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Nonverbal Frisk, Suicidal Thoughts, frisk being a cutie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-18
Updated: 2015-11-30
Packaged: 2018-05-02 06:21:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5237699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Frisk was told the world outside the Ruins would be dangerous, as the monsters out there would try to take their SOUL. But as Frisk stumbles along snowdrifts and broken branches, they realize that kindness can be found even in people that would otherwise be considered dead. Frisk has a good time.</p><p>First part of a series of Frisk meeting and befriending the monsters of the Underground, with sweet moments in-between.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Breaking the Ice

Rubbing their arms together, Frisk shakily stumbled through the long snow-covered path. They were concerned with the fact that the path looked well-trodden, and they were starting to get goose bumps out of fear rather than the cold. The emptiness of the road didn’t help, and neither did the skeletal blackened trees that hung over the small child. They walked faster.

 

Keeping their zipless hoodie helped slightly, but it still didn’t stand much of a chance against the flakes of snow soaking their jacket, freezing the tips of their fingers where they peeked from their too-long sleeves. They sniffed, trying to suppress a sneeze, failing when it decided it wanted to be free.

 

Frisk should’ve asked Toriel for a layered jacket, or at least a woolen scarf. They frowned. They didn’t want to think about Toriel again after just having left.

 

They were absolutely miserable in a place where it shouldn’t be snowing.

 

Frisk whipped their head around when they heard a loud resounding _CRACK_ behind them, only to find no one there. However, they did notice the large branch they tripped over earlier was broken in several pieces, and Frisk’s fright grew. If something could break a branch that big, they definitely don't want to meet it, especially since it meant the thing wanted their SOUL. Frisk quickened their pace to a power-walk.

 

They stopped and stood paralyzed when they heard the footsteps right behind them.

 

“Human, don’t you know how to greet a new pal? Turn around and shake my hand.”

 

Still stuck in place, somehow Frisk managed to turn around and give the, uh, rather short shadowy figure in front of them. They kinda expected it to be bigger.

 

Frisk reached their hand out, the wet sleeves slipping away from their hands so they could give the stranger a handshake. They grasped a sharp edged hand that felt too hollow and _oh my god it has no skin it’s going to steal mine and-_

 

FFFFTTHBBBHBBHWEEE

 

Frisk was so startled from their thoughts they stumbled back and fell on the snow butt-first. Unfortunately, they took the culprit with them.

 

FWEEEEBBHJBeeeeee

 

“heh, the old whoopie cushion in the hand trick. it’s ALWAYS funny. also, uh, sorry didnt mean to startle you that much. here kiddo, take my hand, i promise there’s no whoopie cush in it this time.” he said, offering his hand. Grabbing it and clumsily standing up, Frisk burst into a fit of giggles and snorts mixed with slight tears of relief.

 

They hoped the rest of the Underground was like this skeleton, but Frisk didn’t hold that thought for long when the skeleton spoke. “heh, that’s the stuff! anyway, the name’s sans. sans the skeleton,” he winked. “and uh, you gonna let go of my hand anytime soon? no need to get clingy now there.”

 

Embarrassed, Frisk pulled away from the skeleton’s arm, giving him a sharp toothed grin, but abruptly wiped it off their face.

 

Frisk was born with abnormally sharp, pointed teeth, and with the combination of their soft red eyes, they didn’t have many pleasant circumstances above ground.

           

“hehe, didn’t know humans had a mean set of chompers. looks like we match each other” Sans offered, rapping his chin with his knuckles to show off the sharp teeth on his perpetual smile (Frisk guessed that it may have been permanent; they didn’t see his mouth make any other expression yet).

 

“huh? what’s wrong? you don’t have to hide your smile from this scary monster,” Frisk giggled, and Sans somehow made his smile widen “‘sides, I think it looks pretty cool.” Frisk was perplexed; someone liked their monster teeth? Oh, right, they were in the world of monsters now, the other monsters probably wouldn’t notice, or even care. The thought makes Frisk peer up at Sans again and beamed.

 

 ******

 

At first, Frisk was afraid Sans was ratting them out to his loud and intimidating brother. But as the seconds passed the child realized the tall skeleton seemed a little… goofy. Frisk could definitely feel the skeleton brother was a very determined monster, even if it was apparently spent on his lazy brother.

 

When they got out from behind the lamp, Frisk realized they hadn’t greeted Sans properly. They at least hoped he understood what they were saying, as they weren’t 100 percent comfortable speaking to him yet.

 

Flattening their palm, they brought it to their forehead and made a motion in solute while bringing it forward. Bringing their flat palms to their chest, they rubbed them once and stuck two fingers on their fists and brought them together. They finished off by pointing to the skeleton, giving him a wide grin and exposing their sharp teeth. _Hello, nice to meet you._

“silent type, eh? nice tooth-see ya too” he ruffled their hair. “i’d like to ask a favour from you…

 

 ******

Frisk was enjoying Sans’ company he gave sometimes, and while they navigated Papyrus’ lovingly crafted puzzles, sometimes he’d even walk by them.

 

This time when he passed by, they took hold of Sans’ loose hand. When they held onto it briefly before, they didn’t have much time to inspect it, but now Frisk could enjoy the strange texture of it. Smiling, both the skeleton and child walked on to the next puzzle the loud monster prepared for them next.

 

They knew if the rest of the monsters were like these two brothers, they knew they would be OK. Taking one last look at the general direction of the ruins, they smiled softly before turning around and running to catch up with them.


	2. Chilled to the Bone

Snowdin is _cold_.

And with Waterfall being next to it, the humidity of the marshland didn’t bode well with Frisk’s human biology. They quickly headed back to Snowdin, their teeth chattering when the cold air hit them again. Their new friend Papyrus met them on the way back, and apparently deciding to keep the child in his house after just having left, he scooped them up and brought them back to the house. Startled, Frisk let out a gasp that sounded more like a squeak.

“ **HUMAN! YOU LOOK LIKE YOU ARE UNWELL! PLEASE COME INSIDE TO WARM UP** ,” he told them. “ **AND I MUST SERVE THAT SPAGHETTI I PROMISED YOU ON OUR… UH, DATE**.” Frisk blushed at that, and fortunately for them, Papyrus didn’t see it. Frisk could admit to themself that they had gotten attached to these kind monsters; they got as many crushes on some them more often than not. They still had one on Papyrus even after he kindly rejected them, but they had one on the tall skeleton’s brother, too.

Papyrus’ long stride stopped when he stood in front of his house, and opened the door with a flourish Frisk didn’t expect for someone with his personality. Plopping them onto the couch, the skeleton made a motion for Frisk to wait on the couch while he rushed off to prepare his prized noodles for his guest.

Even after the failed date, Papyrus was thrilled to have the human over again, even if he thought it was weird that they would head out and immediately return. He guessed it was because of the fact that they had skin, and even if their pullover was large, it was too thin to keep them warm. In addition, the human seemed to have an insufficient number of layers on, as he’s seen on Snowdin’s residents who had skin and were not made of fire. He also noted how many of those monsters wrapped their mouth and nose to ward off the humid air.  He resolved to hand his human friend a spare scarf before they headed off to Waterfall again.

Humming to himself, he stirred the pasta harder, determined to please his new friend, muttering “NYEH HEH HEH” quietly.

 

* * *

 

 

Frisk was rather nervous, sitting on the edge of the couch and dangling their short legs over the floor. There were unpleasant memories and emotions tied to the word ‘wait’ for them, and they didn’t want someone like Papyrus leaving for too long. They decided to take the initiative and hopped off the couch, waddling with the blanket the monster gave them over their shoulders, and headed towards the kitchen. They peeked around the corner, just to make sure he was still there.

Papyrus spotted them immediately.

 **“HUMAN! I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO WAIT! I, MASTER CHEF PAPYRUS, WANT TO COOK THIS PASTA FOR HIS SPECIAL GUE-,“** he stopped himself when he saw the human flinch, like they were receiving a heavy scolding. Papyrus softened his voice as much as he could manage. “ **HMM. DO YOU WANT TO… HELP ME? IS THAT WHY YOU CAME TO ME? THEN OF COURSE YOU CAN!** ” he exclaimed “ **A COOL FRIEND LIKE YOU WILL MAKE THE SPAGHETTI TASTE EVEN BETTER! WOWIE, I NEVER THOUGHT I’D COOK MY SPECIALTY FOR A HUMAN, AND ONE AS COOL AS YOU! YOU LOVED ALL MY PUZZLES,** ” he paused “ **EVEN IF YOU WERE SLOW**.”

Frisk wanted to protest, but afraid of another possible scolding, signed yes to the skeleton. They also couldn’t bring themselves disappoint the poor skeleton who had a passion the child admired.

 _Hold on. Did he just… call me cool? A cool… friend?_ Frisk thought to themself. No one had ever bothered to spend much time with the child, who was often left alone somewhere by their parents, so most kids found them a little strange. And no one thought of them as their friend.

Frisk was beginning to (platonically, they reminded) love this goofy skeleton even more.

‘Oh, sorry, do you know sign language? I’m very sorry’ Frisk signed. They weren’t ready just yet.

“ **I DO ACTUALLY** ,” he admitted, but he started to sweat. Frisk wondered how a skeleton was able to do that. **“I AM HOWEVER… NOT VERY GOOD AT UNDERSTANDING SIGNS THAT ARE TOO FAST FOR ME TO FOLLOW. IF YOU COULD, COULD YOU SLOW DOWN FOR ME**?” he asked.

‘Of course! I’m glad monsters understand me, not many people on the surface know how…’ Frisk signed slowly in response.

“ **OH. THAT’D FOR A VERY SIMPLE REASON ACTUALLY** ,” he pumped his chest in his usual manner, proud to be sharing his knowledge. “ **A LOT OF MONSTERS LACK MOUTHS AND EARS, SO THEY USE THEIR HANDS IF THEY HAVE THEM TO SPEAK! IF THEY HAVE NO HANDS THEN THEY JUST USE MAGIC**.” He finished. Frisk nodded in understanding.

‘Um, do you smell burning?’

“ **OH NO!!! I COMPLETELY FORGOT THE SPAGHETTI! WAIT HERE HUMAN!** ” he ran off to the pot, which was overflowing with bubbles. Frisk was sure the flame shouldn’t be that high.

" **SANS! PLEASE KEEP THE HUMAN COMPANY! I DONT WANT TO LET THEM NEAR THE FIRE**." Papyrus shouted.

 _When did Sans get here?_ Frisk thought. _Wasn’t he in his post at the entrance of Waterfall? And I was by the door the whol-_

“k”

Frisk let out a yelp and faced Sans. The kid stared at the skeleton.

“heya kid. you went on that date with my bro, right? did he show you his secret outfit?” he implored, winking at the child still gripping the front of their striped sweater over their still racing heart.

Frisk realized what Sans was asking them, and promptly blushed. _Please don’t mention our date oh no._

“i’ll guess that means a ‘yes’. and do you get crushes easy? ‘cause I saw you looking at me like you had stars in your eyes,” Looking down at the much shorter child, patting their shoulder lightly “sorry, I see you more as a little sib more than anything. I guess you just have bad luck in the dating department, huh?” Sans said, nudging Frisk on their shoulder. If it weren’t for their darker completion, they’d be red as a cooked lobster. They looked down at the floor, like it was the most interesting thing in the world as Sans continued, “don’t worry ‘bout it now, kiddo. you’ve got a couple short human years left on ya,” he stopped at the kid’s puzzled look “s’far as I know, monsters live a lot longer than humans.” he shortly explained.

 

 Papyrus strode into the room, carrying a plate of surprisingly unburned spaghetti, placing it in front of the child, who gave a tiny smile up at the giddy skeleton.

 “ **I HOPE YOU FIND THIS SERVING TO YOUR TASTE!** ” Even if that wasn’t true, Frisk could tell Papyrus was improving each time.

Their smile grew to a mischievous grin so wide they exposed their sharp teeth. They looked directly at Papyrus.

“Don’t worry; It’s im _pasta_ ble to resist!” they barked out, unable to contain their fit of giggles.

Sans and Papyrus gawked – although it was mostly Papyrus, as Sans was just staring at them and looked incredibly proud – and Papyrus was feeling the frustration of the pun, but he couldn’t hide his smile for a moment.

“baby’s first words was a pun,” Sans said, wiping an invisible tear from out of his eye socket.

“ **YOU ARE CORRUPTING THE HUMAN, SANS** ,” he huffed. Neither of them had noticed Frisk flinch, who changed to a neutral expression before they looked back down at the fuzzy-hair of the human. _Just show them you’re happy._

“ **BUT HUMAN, YOU DID NOT TELL ME YOU HAD SHARP TEETH** ,” Papyrus gasped so loudly you could practically see the idea hit him full force. “ **UNDYNE WOULD LOVE IT! WOWIE, YOU TWO WOULD BE GREAT FRIENDS! I SHOULD GO TALK TO UNDYNE BEFORE SHE MEETS YOU** ,” he ran to his room, excusing himself temporarily to pick out the scarf he thought of earlier.

He came back a very short while later, and gracefully (which was more like wrapping their head entirely) wound the scarf around the human’s head. Frisk reached out with their pudgy hands to touch the red scarf. When Papyrus left to excitedly in search of Undyne, and Frisk finally resolved to return there soon.

If someone was friends with Papyrus, Frisk was sure this Undyne character wouldn’t be so bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pap is a big ol' sweetheart and he takes care of his Cool Friend to show it
> 
> y'know i thought this chapter would be shorter but it somehow ended up being longer than the first nice
> 
> I always thought Papyrus acted very much like a mom to his friends?? he just cares about them so much and wants everyone having a fun time otherwise he wont have fun. And considering his personality, the way sans idolises him or just downright looks up to him and calls him cool i just headcanon that Papyrus is the older bro. he's a lot more responsible than the fandom makes him to be. But pap being the big bro is just my humble onion.
> 
> Next chapter will be set in waterfall, where frisk runs from spears and as a child they are very distressed
> 
> See you next chapter!


	3. Under the Underweather

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk realizes people down here will come when they call for help. Even if they never said the words aloud, when Sans decides to give encouragment.

Dazed and terribly frightened, Frisk broke through the grass heaving, and barely heard anything the Monster Kid said. They went on, saying something about the panting child being “unlucky” and “standing a LITTLE more to the left”. But Frisk didn’t agree, seeing how when they first encountered the armoured monster, she was leaning over the hall with a spear in her hand, who told Papyrus something they couldn’t hear, but from how Papyrus worded what she said, they were well aware that “destroy” meant “kill without mercy”.

When Kid finished their rant, they ran ahead, apparently too exhilarated to notice their friend stumble after them in blind pain. Frisk didn’t bother to call after them, instead focusing to remove their stripped sweater with caution. They loved that sweater, and even delirious from the several blows Undyne managed to land on the youth, they weren’t about to let the few things they cherished get ruined.

They shuffled towards the water, cleaning the wounds on their right hip, just below where the sweater would be. They twisted their face in discomfort, gripping their shorts in a tiny fist when their hip stung from the cold water’s touch.

Until it was significantly dried enough, Frisk stood up, pulling over the hood to ward off the cool air of the marshland. They limped forward, passing magic crystal cheese room and, too their relief saw a familiar figure standing next to a weird-looking telescope. He gave them a little wave when he noticed the juvenile’s appearance.

They ran forward, trying to hide the falter in their steps, and hugged Sans with enough force it would’ve knocked his breath out of his lungs; if he had them in the first place.

“whoa there pal, you knocked the wind right outta me,” he laughed, ruffling the child’s soft with one bony hand. “although, you kept me _wave_ ing.” Frisk saw through the bad pun easily, removing themselves from Sans and stuck their tongue, but satisfied him by giving their own tiny wave.

“but anyway buddy, what took ya so long to get here? I thought I heard you down the hall some 30 mins ago.” Apparently Sans was lazy enough to say text speech outloud.

Frisk quickly looked off to the side, signing ‘It’s nothing’ without looking at the skeleton. He decided not to press.

“eh, well it’s your business, you’d tell me if you want to,” gesturing to the telescope by his side, he continued, “want to try this premium telescope, though? normally it’s 5000 G per viewing, but since I know you, you can take a peek for free.”

Frisk accepted, looking into the telescope, but was perplexed when they saw nothing but red. They peered up at Sans in question.

He was struggling not to laugh.

They gave him a frown and glared at him, red eyes squinting.

This seemed to make him try harder not to bark out in laughter.

“not satisfied huh? don’t worry,” he put his hand on his chin and leaned on the wall. “I’ll give ya a full refund”

Frisk frowned again, beating his ribs half-heartily with tiny fists.

“You’re weird,” they said out loud, but didn’t mean it in a negative way.

Despite all of Sans’ shenanigans, Frisk was beginning to see the short skeleton as a big brother; a very annoying one, however.

Meanwhile, Sans had noticed a dark red – almost black – stain on their shorts, and even if their too-big sweater concealed most of it, Sans knew instinctively that they had the opportunity to meet Undyne already. He mentally slapped his hand against his skull.

 _I should’a stalled her when I had the chance,_ Sans berated himself. _gee kid, im sorry you had to meet her that way._

But… Why hadn’t they told Sans they got hurt? And they were a little kid too, normally children would run crying to their parents if they just scraped their knee.

Sans took the time to _really_ look at the small human in front of him.

They still had the dingy old Band-Aid they had around their pointer finger, but he could see uncovered scars across their palm. They had scratches on their knuckles, and their hair was tousled way more than Sans could of messed it with just one head rub. He remembered how the human had come in the room like they were ready to drop and take a nap right there on the damp floor.

And the way they hunched their shoulders to look smaller and curtly signed made them look defensive; as if they were hiding something more than just their injuries from the Guard Captain.

Feeling sorry for them wasn’t part of the plan. He didn’t sign up to babysit the human.

But the way their red eyes lit up when he told them one crappy pun like Woshua shoots soapy water; the way they’d cling to his hand and rub their thumb on it to feel the texture, Sans gave in easily. To what, he wasn’t sure.

“hey kid, you look pretty beat. why don’t you sit next to that box over there?” Remembering their wounds, Sans offered, “didn’t you buy some nice cream way early? ‘cause you look like you need to _chill_ out.”

Frisk pulled out their Nice Cream without comment.

Opening the wrapper, they stuck the cold treat to their lips. They checked what message this one had.

 _You’re worth more than you know!_ Frisk could feel tears escape from stress and anxiety.

Sans noticed, but opted it best not to say anything. He didn’t feel the need to coddle them, especially since this one was insistent on hiding their pain.

“hey buddy, just so you know in the future, if you, uh, need any help, you can talk to me or Pap anytime, k?” he reassured. “you’re doing great so far. I know you’ll come out good, no matter what other monsters tell ya. Some may seem mean, sure, but a little tyke like you, I bet undyne’ll be sorry for messing with you.”

The child was letting their tears fall without notice, and Sans reached over to wipe their eyes with the sleeve of his jacket. He noticed the red paint was still smeared on their eye, and quickly rubbed that off too.

Nodding, they finally stood up. Patting the skeleton on the crown of his skull in an affectionate manner; a silent gesture that Sans took as a good sign.

“…thanks. Im gonna… go,” They said softly. “See you maybe.” They walked off

Sans sighed. _ya giving me a real workout kid. good thing for you you’re growin’ on me._

 

* * *

 

Undyne glowered at the human standing below her. Their unbridled sweetness towards monsters that were trying to kill them contradicted everything she knew humans were; awful merciless creatures who killed innocents of her kind.

“Oh, look at me making a difference by hugging random strangers!” she mocked. “you know how you’d be valuable to everyone? IF YOU WERE DEAD!!!”

This struck a chord deep in Frisk’s soul. They clenched their fists and tried to tune out what Undyne was saying.

She continued with the depressing insults unfortunately.

“That’s right, human! You’re continued existence is a crime!”

Frisk was starting to hyperventilate.

“Your life is all that’s standing between us and our freedom!”

Wait. _She really has to kill me to get my SOUL? To free all monsters?_ Frisk realized. They felt selfish, and thought if the friends they’ve made so far, and couldn’t understand they had stopped trying to kill them for their SOUL. _Didn’t they want freedom too? And they only have one more to go… they’ve been trapped for millennia and they let me by just because I was nice?_ Frisk just couldn’t understand.

Before they could contemplate the matter any further, Undyne attacked.

They dodged and defended against the spears, running away several times before their cell began to ring.

“ **WE SHOULD ALL HANG OUT WITH UNDYNE! YOU TWO WOULD BE GREAT PALS**!” Frisk doubted it. Undyne was very determined to serve her people what they were promised. And she wasn’t exactly on their good side at the moment.

They noticed Undyne was standing… rather politely behind them, and when Papyrus hung up and they tucked their phone away and the fish warrior charged again. Frisk felt like they were in a Saturday morning cartoon.

Frisk saw a station up ahead where Sans was snoring. They wanted to call him for help, but yelped and skipped away when the monster got too close.

Sans managed to stall her by doing absolutely nothing. Despite the situation, they smiled.

Undyne collapsed from the heat, and though her words still stung, the child felt guilty for leaving the fish out of the water; so to speak.

They dumped water on her, and instead of attacking, she looked around, turned on her heels and stomped away. Frisk released their breath.

Walking back to the station to thank the skeleton, they saw no one was there. They guessed he had a part-time sentry job here too, so he’d come back eventually. Reaching into their pocket, they pulled out the monster candy they’d been saving until now, and placed it on the counter.

They walked off the same direction Undyne had headed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was waiting to write this chapter for so long wow
> 
> and yea, if you could notice it i did refrence the popular 'frisk was abandoned' theory
> 
> im not writing an essay in the notes this time you guys pretty much know my hcs by now
> 
> final note: not to toot my horn, but you can check or follow my twitter @agenderfrisk for more updates on this fic. aus are an added bonus.


	4. Reprieve

They were lucky that Waterfall was as dark and quiet as it was, and that it had several niches just big enough for the short chubby 7 year old to fit in. Their breath hitched.

The soft glow of the crystals surrounding the marsh highlighted their tears as they fell. The beauty of the wetland failed to keep the child enthralled.

They couldn’t do this anymore. Even those strange points that normally filled them with simple determination couldn’t cheer them up. They curled tighter into themself, as if trying to hide from their own feelings. They thought they could hold longer than this, seeing how the monsters they befriended so far had been apologetic after trying to hurt them. But with the stress Undyne had dropped on them had them near an anxiety attack.

The fact that they had to die to give their friends the freedom they so longed for broke another dam and brought them to another wave of tears.

They let out a small wail that was quickly muffled as they buried their face in their legs.

Frisk barely registered the soft footsteps in the hall, and when they finally noticed the owner of the footsteps was near their cry-hole.

“hey, kid? ya here?” Sans called. “c’mon buddo, you got my bro all worried,” he pulled out the monster candy that the kid left on his sentry station. He thought it was sweet that a child with a big a sweet-tooth this one had given him such a rare treat.

Never mind that now. The skeleton paused, looking around as he heard the kid’s telltale ringtone.

Taking out his own cell, he alerted Papyrus that he found the kid. Putting it back in his pocket, he took a shortcut right in the general direction of the ringing, which stopped in a few seconds; he presumed they didn’t pick up. Luckily for him, he knew where they were now, and they scooted further in the hole to avoid his short arms from reaching them.

They didn’t like letting other people see them cry. It usually led to bad things, usually ridicule.

“hey don’t do that now…  my bro’ll cheer you up no prob, but, uh, you could make it a little easier if you came out,” he sighed. This wasn’t going to be easy, he bet. “and, uh, thanks for that candy by the way. It was real _sweet_ of ya.”

The youth couldn’t help themselves, and let out a wet giggle. They uncurled a bit from their Frisk-ball, but still didn’t come out. Even so, Sans smiled that he was at least making the kid a _little_ better.

Fortunately, his brother had already made it, and got on the job immediately. Sans lowered, content in sitting next to the opening of the hole to watch his brother fish out the human ball, of which slumped a little in defeat and exhaustion.

“DON’T WORRY, BROTHER! I WILL TAKE THIS MATTER INTO MY HANDS!”

“whatever you say, bro,”he said, winking. “if anyone can cheer a pal up, its you.”

The taller skeleton set them down, not even waiting for them to dry their tears – or even notice, for that matter – and launched in a tearful speech.

“HUMAN! I DID NOT KNOW YOU WERE IN EMOTIONAL TURMOIL. PLEASE, IF YOU FEEL DOWN NEXT TIME, DON’T HESITATE TO TELL ME,” he managed out. “AFTER ALL, YOU ARE MY COOL FRIEND!”

Frisk looked down, not replying but only sitting down on the floor next to their sob hideaway, and drew their legs to their chest. They only looked up at him with their red eyes, blinking away stray tears.

“AND… IF YOU ARE WORRIED ABOUT UNDYNE, BEING MURDERY AND ALL, THERE’S NO NEED TO WORRY!” he paused to pose, beating a gloved hand to his cardboard chest plate. “I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL BE THERE TO GUIDE YOU!”

The Boss Monster was too busy in his speech to notice the human flinch at the mention of the Guard Captain’s name. Sans, however, noticed. He stood up, and gestured to his brother to lean down and whisper to his ‘ear’.

“I think you might need to give the kid a little bit of time before they face undyne again,” he glanced at the child who tucked their face between their knees. “they looked way past spooked.”

“Hmm, you may be right, brother. But… they seem to have calmed down just a bit! I’m doing a GREAT job as a mom!” Papyrus whisper-yelled back; an impressive feat for the skeleton.

Frisk made a little sound at the mention of ‘mom’. Papyrus DID remind them of Toriel, albeit a very loud and boney version that had a bloated ego, but they knew he meant well. They struggled not to cry again and bother these nice Monsters further.

“BUT, YOU DON’T HAVE TO GO TO HER RIGHT AWAY. IT’S FINE! WE ARE VERY PATIENT,” he said, turning back to the reformed human-ball. “I DIDN’T KNOW IT WOULD BE AFFECTING YOU THIS MUCH… I AM BEING A TERRIBLE FRIEND!”

Frisk rushed to reassure him, signing quickly, _No no it’s not your fault I just –_ they never finished their hand movements, instead hanging their head again. They finally understood just how stubborn the brothers were, and just gave up on taking blame. For what, Frisk wasn’t sure anymore.

Shakily getting onto their feet, they shuffled over to the skeleton, tugging on his tibia and raising their arms toward his face, clenching and unclenching their tiny fists.

Understanding immediately, he leaned down to pluck the short child, who buried their face in his scarf/cape as soon as they were as comfortable they could be in a skeleton’s arms.

Papyrus couldn’t help but notice the human was shivering.

“Thanks you two… um, I think I’m ready for that date with Undyne,” the human stated with a tinny voice, barely audible that he almost didn’t register they were talking.

For once, Papyrus didn’t say anything boisterous, and walked slowly to the fish warrior’s house to allow them to rid themselves of the last of their tears.

Sans smiled. He knew his brother could do anything he set his mind to.

He took a couple of shortcuts, following the duo, just to make sure nothing particularly bad happened during that ‘date’.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this chapter took so long i was out of ideas and just have this garbage

**Author's Note:**

> Im self-indulgent and dump all my headcanons in fics oops  
> So i want to write a series where frisk has moments with their new friends and has some breakdowns along the way but generaly has a great time with their weird friends.
> 
> This first part is a group of one shots featuring the bone bros first in line, basically parts where i thought i'd be sweet to see them interacting with frisk
> 
> See ya next chapter!


End file.
